books

Hermann Karl Hesse was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual’s search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. Wikipedia

“Among the many worlds that man did not receive as a gift from nature but created out of his own mind, the world of books is the greatest… Without the word, without the writing of books, there is no history, there is no concept of humanity. And if anyone wants to try to enclose in a small space, in a single house or a single room, the history of the human spirit and to make it his own, he can only do this in the form of a collection of books.” – Herman Hesse

I can’t imagine a world without books. Real books. Things you can touch and feel, hold and turn the pages. An electronic device just isn’t the same (though they have their uses).

We live in an age with a disappearing history; modern history is largely going to disappear–well, all ages do, but ours is going to disappear more quickly. All those digital pictures: do you have prints made? If you don’t, they will inevitable be lost. You won’t even be able to look through them a few years from now, must less your great-grandchildren 100 years from now.

Our governments now store meeting minutes on video tape. There are no longer archives of current written summary documents. The electronic technology is not stable. Why I have old VCR movies that can’t find a player anymore. I have laptop computers that have antiquated operating systems stuck on shelves. Computer technology changes rapidly and then is quickly so antique as to be inaccessible. Unlike an old book, it can’t be read or viewed.

The ultimate sin, as far as I’m concerned, is to stop teaching our kids how to write in cursive.

One bad decision after another will leave us with a society of of functional illiterates. We’ll be able to punch butons, and ask computers questions. But not many of us will be thinking for ourselves. Finding our own answers from within.

Which brings me back to books. I can imagine a world without them, but I don’t like what I see.

One would think so. On the other hand, I recently saw a quote from a famous writer/person (I think it was Einstein, but that seems unlikely as I write this) who stated: Eventually, a writer needs to quit reading and just write. That’s a paraphrase.

If you’re a children’s writer who has a clue about recent Caldecott books . . .

If you’re a biologist who doesn’t read science journals . . .

If you’re a politician who doesn’t read white papers . . .

What, exactly, does that say about you?

I suppose if you’re already read everything important that (you think) has ever been written, and all that’s left to do is to churn out an e-book a month . . . . There really is nothing left for you to read. Go for it.

I’m actually appalled that the perfectly good NaNoWriMo trend has been recast as an obsessive occupation: If you do it in the month of November you should do it every month.

No one loves a blabbermouth.

Mona L S Baisch

Stephen King

PS I prefer the Stephen King quote: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

I ran on to a quote that hasn’t left my mind since I read it a few days ago.

In art as in politics, well-meant, noble-sounding errors can devalue the world. – John Gardner from On Moral Fiction

He goes on to explain, at some length, that creative efforts that work to tear-down, no matter how wildly they are lauded by the public – whatever the audience (film, music, literature, sculpture, painting), is not really art. Art, by definition, uplifts.

I thought I’d let that wander through some other minds besides my own. Download at least the free chapter from your Kindle bookstore: ON MORAL FICTION.